News and commentary on the autism epidemic and my beautiful boy who is living with autism.

November 23, 2008

New AAP President Shows Us His Priorities, And It Is Not The Health of American Children

Last month David 'no such thing as vaccine injury' Tayloe, was sworn in as the President of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Naturally, on day one of his new job, he laid out his priorities for his tenure:

'Tayloe said that he intends to focus on 5 main areas this coming year -- "Medicaid payments, vaccine financing issues, fair payment of pediatricians, retail-based health clinics and funding medical students' education."

As Anne Dachel notes in her piece, there are no actual children's health issues on his list of priorities. What is important to Tayloe, is getting pediatricians paid.

His priority is money.

Since he has decided to shift the focus of the group from children's health to doctors liquidity, it only seems appropriate to change the name of the group from the American Academy of Pediatrics to the Pediatricians Guild or the American Union of Pediatricians, so that the public can know who they are really dealing with. A group that puts the interests of pediatricians above the interests of children.

Or I would have recommended those names, before I read this article today:

Dubai: A US-based advocacy and education group for paediatricians is setting up practice in Dubai, bringing regulation and education standards for child health to an area lacking uniform paediatric policies.

The Dubai chapter of the American Academy of Paediatrics (AAP), would be the first overseas chapter of the medical group, comprising mostly of paediatricians, dedicated to the well-being of children.

The organization sets out guidelines and recommendations for child care in the US, while also looking after the interests of child healthcare providers. These policies have now been adopted as standard policy in many countries.

Dr. David Tayloe Jr., President of AAP, told Gulf News Dubai was ripe for a chapter. "A number of countries are underdeveloped, poverty is an issue - and that is not the case here," he said.

He added the UAE's struggle with child health issues, such as obesity and diabetes - on par with developed countries, were issues the AAP usually dealt with. Dr Tayloe expects the chapter to work closely with UAE health authorities on child health policies...

Tayloe's first order of business is not only NOT the health of American children, it is not anything American or health related. His first order of business is to expand his group internationally, and to expand it to one of the richest nations in the world. He was not kidding about getting paid, now was he.

I have a friend who is a pediatrician. She makes house calls, she does not charge her low income patients a good part of the time, she spends one month out of the year digging wells and treating kids who live on an island in Indonesia with no doctor and a few time she has even babysat her poorest patients when their single mothers had job interviews and other opportunities to elevate them selves and their little families. Her patients can call her cell phone at three in the morning and they will get her. While she and I don't agree on how vaccines should be used, I have a great deal of affection for her, because it is clear from the way she lives her life that the well being of children is what is vital to her.

When I stand David Tayloe next to her, the contrast is stark. His are the actions of someone who cares about money, hers are not. Hers are the actions of someone who cares about the health of children, especially poor children, his are not.

If he was concerned about the health of children, his focus would be on fixing the HORRIBLE condition of children's health in this country, that has happened under the watch of his own group, instead of exporting and OBVIOUSLY broken system to the children of Dubai. If he was concerned about the plight of foreign children, he would go to Africa to confront AIDS, or Thailand to confront the child sex trade, or even Minneapolis to confront autism. Instead he goes to UAE where their most notable characteristic is an overabundance of cash.

This is not the move of a man who is working for the benefit of children, this is a man who is looking to expand his business internationally. Dubai is not a place for health missionaries, it is a place for expanding market share.

I thought I couldn't get more cynical about this man. Well he managed to make that happen after only one month in his position.

So now if we want to properly name the American Academy of Pediatrics, we have to drop "American" because Tayloe is taking it global; we have to drop Pediatrics, because it is not about the art of keeping children in good health, but getting docs and their reps paid while covering their collective asses; and after his nonsensical comments on The Today Show, well let's just say that referring to any group that follows his lead as an "Academy" is a poor choice.

International Guild of Pediatricians seems like a good fit.

To the people of UAE, please take a look at the health of American children. Around 1% have autism; 17% have a developmental delay or disability; diabetes, asthma and cancer are through the roof; and our country is consistently listed near the bottom of modern countries in terms of children's health. Why in the world would you want to invite in and adopt the policies of the professional organization that ushered in this health disaster? Smile politely at Tayloe, and move on.

And again... to our wise American Pediatricians who have watched silently as your professional organization decays into a corrupt, ass covering, buck making organization... rise up... take back your profession.